JefferyBaird(DJJEFFERYB) wrote:Western Kentucky head coach Steve Lutz has emerged as the lead candidate for Oklahoma State coaching job; and also that AD Weiberg has interviewed Lutz AND Grand Canyon’s Bryce Drew.

apo wrote: ↑

March 27th, 2024, 6:31 pm

Im growing increasingly concerned I’m not under consideration for the job. No one has contacted me.

Mogy21 wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 9:27 am

This thread is super long so I'm sorry if this has already been talked about.
Wouldn't it be ironic if we hired Chris Victor from SeattleU (16 min drive from UW) and then he did better than Sprinkle. That would be awesome.

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 9:31 am

Mogy21 wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 9:27 am

This thread is super long so I'm sorry if this has already been talked about.
Wouldn't it be ironic if we hired Chris Victor from SeattleU (16 min drive from UW) and then he did better than Sprinkle. That would be awesome.

First I've heard this name mentioned. And since you don't post very often I'm wondering if you've heard anything.

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑

March 26th, 2024, 10:03 am

In trying to glean all the info I can across the webs combined with some things I've heard, here's a bit of an unofficial summary of seemingly likely candidates:

(The list is intended to be in somewhat of a ranked order.)

* Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo - He is rumored as the top candidate. He took over a poor Toledo team in 2010 that had only won 7 games the prior year. After only winning 4 games his first year, he turned Toledo into a winner and has won the last 4 MAC season championships and been the 2X MAC coach of the year. He has not won the conference tournament though. Our AD, Diana Sabau is from Ohio and has deep ties there, so I assume there's also some sort of connection here. He is 57 years old.

*Todd Simon, Bowling Green - He was the 2021 Big Sky coach of the year at SUU and then jumped to Bowling Green for a pay increase in 2023. BG went 11-20 last year, but Simon went 20-14 his 1st year there. At SUU he was considered a hot young coach. He also spent 1/2 season as UNLV's interim head coach in 2016. SUU was Kenpom ranked #342 when he took over and he got them up to #111. He was the 1st coach ever at SUU to have 3 straight 20 win seasons. It's no secret he wants this job. He's 43 years old.

*Andy Hill, USU- Current associate head coach Andy Hill has to be a strong candidate for the job. He does a fair amount of the actual coaching right now and has a lot of good recruiting connections. He's very familiar with out West due to being a long time Utah assistant. He is how we got Ian Martinez here. I believe he's about 46 years old.

*Eric Henderson, South Dakota st. - Has been at South Dakota st. the past 5 years and has won the league 4 times. His win % is .693. He doesn't have much experience outside of the Dakotas though and hasn't left the Midwest. He's 46 years old. I could also argue the team hasn't been as good under him as it was under Scott Nagy or TJ Otzelberger.

*Pat Kelsey, College of Charleston- Pat Kelsey is a very hot name right now and is rumored as a finalist for the Louisville job. He is very highly respected and has 74% win % at Charleston. He played two years at Wyoming but then transferred to Xavier. He spent his whole coaching career out East. It's been rumored he's waiting for a big job out East. IF we could actually get him I would be ecstatic about this hire, but I'm not optimistic about it. He's 48 years old.

*Bucky McMillan, Samford - This is a fascinating name. He coached a HS dynasty bball team in Alabama and was hired directly into Samford. He is in his 4th year where he's taken them from #321 Kenpom to #80. He just led his team to a 29-5 record and NCAA tournament appearance. They nearly beat Kansas in the NCAA tournament but lost on a horrible incorrect foul call. He is coaching Rylan Jones. He is 40 years old.

*Joe Pastnerack, UC Santa Barbara - He was a strong candidate for the job last year with UCSB winning the Big West 2 of the past 3 years. All he has done is win in the 7 seasons he's been there. However, this year his term inexplicably has taken a step back and he's having his worst season in 7 years there. Maybe some monotony has set in for him?

*Chris Gerlufsen, San Francisco - He's only been at San Francisco for two years, but the team was good this year (as we saw first hand) and was quite improved over last year. He was the associate head coach in 2022 when they were a 10 seed in the NCAA tournament. He's been an assistant at various places the past 20 years before getting the head job at San Francisco. He's 47 years old.

*David Riley, Eastern Washington - He's only 35 years old and has been very impressive at Eastern Washington in 3 years. He was the Big Sky coach of the year last year over Danny Sprinkle. However, his team has flamed out and lost early in the Big Sky Tournament the past two years as the 1 seed. On paper he seemed like a great idea, but apparently he isn't actually that highly regarded and may not be a great candidate.

*Tim Miles, San Jose st. - Tim was actually a candidate for the job last year. He was Craig Smith's mentor and had a ton of success at Colorado st. He was fired at Nebraska after that and now has done a decent job at SJSU. I'm not sure any coach can win at SJSU with their lack of fan support and he put out a pretty good team last year. I actually like this idea and he's a coach who would seemingly stay in the job for a long time if successful. He was a top candidate last year but with San Jose fledgling it seems he's lost a lot of momentum. He's 58 years old.

*Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon- He just had a crazy successful at Grand Canyon and has been great there, after running Vanderbilt into the ground a few years ago. His name is commonly brought up, but the consensus across the internet is that he's already making probably double what we could pay him. I have to think he's not a realistic candidate. He's 49 years old.

*Matt Langel, Colgate- He has been Colgate's coach for 13 seasons, with a 55% win %. However, he's won the patriot league 6 years in a row. He played college ball at Penn and is from Pennsylvania has a lot of Ivy League ties. This one also seems like a longshot. He's 46 years old.

*Preston Spradlin, Morehead st. He just won the OVC and took Morehead st. the tournament. He's only 37 years old and has been Morehead st.'s head coach for 8 years with a 56% win %, but his team has trended up the whole time. This guy was born in KY, played bball a small KY college, and has coached in KY his whole career. It also seems unlikely.

*Chris Victor, Seattle- He was the 2022 WAC coach of the year, but Seattle's record has gotten worse each of the 2 seasons he's been there after his first year. He is considered a dynamic young coach. He's approximately 40 years old.

*Russell Turner, UC Irvine - He has been at UC Irvine for the past 14 years and has win % of .62. He's won the Big West 7 of the 14 seasons and had a great team this year. He's 53 years old.

*Will Wade, Mcneese st. - I just bring him up to mention him because someone will inevitably ask again. The rumor is USU has no interest given the character reputation.

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 7:31 am

Have we reached out to John Groce, Arkon's Head Coach, to see if he has any interest?

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 3:06 pm

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2024, 7:31 am

Have we reached out to John Groce, Arkon's Head Coach, to see if he has any interest?

FIFY

Mogy21 wrote: ↑

March 29th, 2024, 10:06 am

I wonder if there is any chance we get Randy Rahe to come back out of retirement. Apparently, he was followed recently by USU athletics. I have no idea how recent "recently" is.

SLB wrote: ↑

March 29th, 2024, 10:09 am

Mogy21 wrote: ↑

March 29th, 2024, 10:06 am

I wonder if there is any chance we get Randy Rahe to come back out of retirement. Apparently, he was followed recently by USU athletics. I have no idea how recent "recently" is.

Imagine Todd Simon as head coach then he gets Dave Rice then Rice says let's have Randy Rahe to help out.
It would be full circle.